Wales are exactly where they had hoped they would be post-Gareth Bale - Reporter Notebook
Sky Sports News senior reporter Geraint Hughes reflects on a first major qualifying campaign for Wales without their talisman Gareth Bale, one which has ended in a March play-off and the chance of making it through to next summer's Euros in Germany
By Geraint Hughes
Wednesday 22 November 2023 12:37, UK
Eight matches over eight months, but the job to reach Euro 2024 goes on. Gruelling and energy-sapping at times, yet there's no time to dwell on what might have been. 'What could still be' is the task ahead.
Wales boss Rob Page will next week get his coaches and staff together as they plan for March's play-off semi-final. The Wales boss has already made it clear that's happening. Before then Page barely rests, less than an hour after full-time on Tuesday night he was anxious to keep going, keep on the move, keep the momentum.
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«I'm off to Switzerland,» he told me as we grabbed a word in a corridor at the Cardiff City Stadium. He wants to know as soon as possible whether he's to prepare Wales to face Iceland, Finland or Ukraine. If Page had his way, he wouldn't be waiting until March; that semi-final play-off would be happening in two weeks' time.
Is this the route to the Euros that always was to await Wales? Yes, Wales created a chance to qualify automatically and it's the results against Armenia home and away that scuppered that, but it was interesting to listen to the Wales boss a couple of times over the past few days weave into discussion what he and his staff had forecast before even a ball was kicked in anger during this campaign.
They looked at the eight matches they would play and made a realistic, and I'm sure they'd say pragmatic, assessment of how each
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